Footsteps Worth Following

After reading Jeffrey Wilhelm's book on engaging readers and writers with Inquiry, I’ve decided to use questions rather than statements as the text on my bulletin boards this year.  When I made this one, my husband asked me if I was going to put pictures of heroes on it.  What?  That hadn’t even occurred to me.  So upon further exploration with him, he said that this question totally lends itself to a discussion about role models in our lives who’ve made footsteps worth following.  So thanks, John, for today’s intriguing idea.  Use a bulletin board like this as a writing prompt or a morning meeting discussion starter with follow-up questions that ask:  Whom do you know personally (or know about) that has made footsteps worth following?  Would you consider that person your hero?  Why? What qualities or values make that person special?  How are you like him/her?  How could you grow to be more like him/her?  Then, write a note of appreciation to that person (if they're no longer with us, write it as a tribute to their memory!) to let him/her know how they've positively influenced you.